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Published online 27 October 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.1190
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Urea pollution turns tides toxic
Kamikaze gulls that inspired Hitchcock's The Birds may have been doomed by leaky septic tanks.
Urea pollution can trigger ocean algae to produce a deadly toxin called domoic acid, scientists have discovered.
The research may help explain several mass animal deaths, including a historic bird stranding event thought to have inspired Alfred Hitchcock's horror film The Birds.
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